Unintended Kismet
by musicalDeleria
Summary: Something has gone terribly wrong. The Hero clad in green that fell into her life seems to be just one of the many imbalances in the universe that Reila Harper is forced to deal with. The Gods must love to see her suffer.
1. Delusions

The wind blew softly through the trees, making them moan and creak in a synchronous low rumble as their branches bent and swayed.

It brought with it the fresh scent of pine, grass, and sunshine as it caressed my cheek, brushing long strands of deep red out of my face with unseen fingers.

I reveled in the feeling, being so surrounded by the natural beauty enveloping me. This was one of the things I loved and envied most about my parent's house, especially when I would be moving away so soon and losing access to the wilderness right at my doorstep.

A soft smile tugs at my lips as I glance once again at my subject, burning it's image into my mind for the next few seconds as I look down upon the book in my lap, pencil ghosting over the page.

Contained on it's smooth fibers are countless strokes of gray lead of varying thickness and intensity melding together into a much larger image. It shows the forest that surrounded me, ringing around the edge of the clearing I looked out upon that acted as our backyard.

The centerpiece, my current subject, was a beautiful young buck, still growing into his antlers, sunlight diffusing into a soft almost heavenly glow as it touched the baby fuzz clinging to them.

I'd been lucky today, I'd settled for drawing the small birds and squirrels as they played, hoping maybe one of the foxes that often visited would wander by, and then to my delight this beautiful little fella showed up.

Currently he was just grazing, though occasionally he would glance up to my spot sitting on a soft patch of grass close to the house, snuffle, and go back to his lunch.

I was working on the smaller details like the fur coating his antlers and the reflections in his large eyes, when he suddenly raised his head, seeming to go as still as a statue but for his ears which flickered rapidly about, his eyes like marbles, wide and reflective.

He was not looking at me this time, instead toward the forest. He stood there for a few seconds more before turning and darting back into the trees opposite to where he'd been staring.

I let out a soft sigh, briefly setting down my pencil down on top of my sketch book.

At least I'd already finished the rough sketch of him, I could still add the detail even if he's long gone with the help of a reference or two.

Setting the pad and pencil aside for a moment I reach next to me where a thermal tumbler of Earl Gray green tea sat on a large conveniently placed flat rock, bringing it over and guiding it to my lips.

I give a contented sigh as the warm brew hits my tastebuds, savoring the taste and the warmth before setting it back.

I glance up at the sky above and the perfectly abstract fluffy white clouds drifting lazily by, slowly lowering myself until I was parallel with them.

I reach my arms out above my head, fingers running through the absurdly soft Kentucky bluegrass before beginning to form lazy abstract patterns, enjoying the tickling sensation of its blades against my skin.

Abruptly my ears are hit with the sound of multiple pairs of wings accompanied by startled chirps and squaks, causing me to open my eyes and push myself up a bit to stare quizzically upon the clearing before me.

The only trace left of the gathering of birds on the ground were their small shadows, together creating one larger looming patch of darkness in the grass as their wings carried them away on the wind.

Well that's strange.

Unsure of the threat of potential danger to me and uneasy of the animal's odd behavior I sit up from my spot, pulling my legs up underneath me in preparation in case I must stand.

In minutes both the deer and the birds, and any other wildlife that had gathered near, had fled the open area surrounding me, leaving me alone in the dimness that the suddenly multiplying clouds created as they blotted out the sun.

Well this was a tad bit ominous, wasn't it?

What could've caused them all to scatter so quickly?

As I ponder I find myself twirling a section of hair around my finger, worrying the corner of my lower lip between my teeth as I do so.

Could it be a bear? Or maybe a cougar... Do we even have cougars around this way...?

I take in a slow deep breath as I force my muscles to relax, giving another short glance up to the sky, taking note of the slate colored clouds that had rapidly dwarfed the the fluffy little popcorn clouds I had been admiring.

Calm down. The animals probably sensed a storm coming and left to find cover.

Even as I tell myself this my thoughts still drift to the much less likely option my brain had drummed up for me to fret over.

Standing now I slowly step backwards, putting myself closer to the back door with each cautious stride, gaze unmoving from the spot the deer had turned to before taking off.

Just ahead at the tree line, right in my center of vision, the branches rustle, the rest had all gone still in the absence of wind. I hadn't noticed until now.

_The calm before the storm. _

I think wryly.

Without my permission my feet stop moving, keeping me frozen in place.

As I struggle with my internal panic the rustling only increases.

Finally, as if the forest itself had awoken, the branches bow out to the sides like the gnarled maw of colossal beast, the tree branches scraping against a dark form like vicious fangs before it is spat out onto the lawn with a dull thud, as if the beast were unpleased with what it had intended to make its meal.

I can feel my heart in my throat as it closes off, stealing away my breath before plummeting down to my stomach, beating in a frantic stuttering gait.

Fuck. What the hell is that? What if it's a bear? Or a wolf? Or a serial killer?

Good god please don't be a serial killer.

If I have to die by one of these things please let it not be the later...

They'd probably be able to force their way into the house, and they would doubtless torture me before killing me... So I guess it's wolf or bear then if I had the choice... then again... bears play with their food sometimes right? Ugh...

Please be a wolf then, at least they go for the throat first... Besides, I respect wolves. They're cool... I mean if I have to die by an animal, why not let it be my one of my favorites right...?

I feel my stomach churn at the thought of being torn apart by sharp carnivorous fangs.

God why am I even considering this right now! I should be getting myself inside and locking every bolt and latch the house has.

The door is right behind me.

Just a few more steps, a set of stairs and you're home free idiot! Well... as long as it really isn't a serial killer that is-

My morbid thoughts are cut short by something sounding much like a cry of pain, followed shortly by a heavy thud as it seems that whoever, or whatever it is had tried and failed to stand again while I was busy fighting off the ridiculous and nonsensical fabrications of my imagination.

With little delay my head snaps up again, eyes quickly refocusing ahead and scanning the tree line for any sign of movement.

I hadn't been aware of just how rapidly my heart was beating until I also realize how quickly my breaths are being released and drawn in.

And then I see it.

In my panic I hadn't been able to pick it out but now as my heart slows its racing I discern the dark green fabric from the lighter blades of still grass covering the area.

With a new focal point I at last notice the more prominent details hidden within the small field ahead.

Amongst the green are touches of brown, tan, cream, and gold, all colors natural to the surroundings though together foreign to any living thing in the area, at least... anything that large.

Belatedly my sluggish mind catches up to my eyes once the fear dissipates, leaving curiosity to take it's place.

It is then that I finally realize what it is I'm looking at...

My grip on my cup goes lax and the beverage clatters to my feet hitting a few rocks before rolling to settle in the grass below. Had my current situation been any different I would've taken a moment to mourn the precious brew that now soaked into the earth to feed the grass at my feet, for once spilled tea was not very high up on my list of priorities.

I swear I feel my heart stop for a second before resuming it's same frantic pace from just moments ago.

With a few colorful curses and a deep sigh I stomp down my hesitation, taking a few stilted steps forward before picking up the pace to close the distance between myself and the fallen figure.

I'm quite sure this is not what most people would do in this situation, a part of me wondered if maybe I should've shown some caution first before rushing forward.

Though that really didn't matter at this point, that's just not the way I thought through things. When it came to people in need of help I had always been more of an act first, worry about my own safety later type of person.

I cross the expanse of lawn from the deck to the faraway tree line ensnaring the yard rather quickly, nearly tripping over a few loose stones in my haste.

I'm upon the fallen figure before I can will my legs to stop and find myself almost kissing the ground beneath me before my arms plant themselves firmly to keep me hovered above the dirt rather than impacting it with my face, my knees hit rather violently but I hardly acknowledge the pain but for the sharp hiss that escapes my gritted teeth.

Instead, my eyes dart about quickly, taking everything in as I lean just a bit closer to the form just a foot away from me.

To my surprise, and relief, it seems to be just a boy who looks to be about my age, with fair sun kissed skin and dark, dirty blond hair cut short but for his bangs and two locks of hair framing either side of his face hanging down just past his chin.

He lays on his stomach, arms splayed at his sides and his cheek in the dirt from the fall.

The rest of him that had been pretty well hidden from sight in the grass is now discernible, I find myself tilting my head curiously, leaning the slightest bit closer as I scrutinize the boy before me.

He looked to be wearing a forest green tunic over chainmail and tan pants tucked into a pair of brown leather boots. A long hat in a matching shade of green that ended in a point like a god teir hood rested on his head, stoping at his upper back.

Under the chainmail top was a long sleeve shirt a shade lighter than the pants covered from elbow down by sturdy leather bracers. A strap for a sheath looped over his shoulder and another around his waist that held two leather pouches, and I could see the hilt of a sword peaking out from behind a carved wooden shield upon his back.

Taken aback I find myself leaning away, eyes slightly widened as I find myself recognizing this boy, or at least what he was wearing.

Though when my eyes go to his face again I notice a spot of dark red peaking out from behind his hair, marring his cheek.

I pull back with a startled gasp before I take in another deep, calming breath.

Please don't let that be what I think it is...

With shaky fingers I reach toward the boy and brush aside the lock of hair covering his left cheek.

Just as soon as the lock is guided aside by my fingers it is dropped back into place as I pull my hand away quickly, sucking in a breath.

Oh... Oh no. No no no...

My fingertips are splotched in a bit of the red that had been clinging to his hair, though now more exposed I see a worryingly deep cut marring his face.

To my dismay even now blood continues to brim out of it.

Pushing past the visceral reaction of my stomach roiling at the mere sight of flowing crimson, I reach down and wipe my hand in the grass next to me before reaching forward again.

Despite my trepidation I sweep the hair out of his face to look for any other injuries, finding none I glance over him a second time with a new awareness, inspecting for abrasions elsewhere.

It's much harder to spot than the first, especially given his positioning, but I do find a worrying patch of red seeping into the shirtsleeve of his left arm when I move it to better look over him.

"Son of a bitch..." I breathe out in a whisper, putting my head in my hands for a second and taking a calming breath.

Well Reila, at least he isn't a bear...

The thought gives me no comfort, especially as I think to myself that it probably would've been a hell of a lot less trouble if all I'd found were a wild animal, injured or no.

Life just had to make things complicated for me didn't it? I'm sure someone up there is having a real good laugh over this...

I drag my eyes away from the darkening clouds once I was satisfied that whoever orchestrated this had had enough of my unamused glaring.

Alright... Fuck. What to do, what to do?

I reach into my pocket but let out a curse a second later.

Of course I left my phone in the house... its practically glued to my person every waking minute, but the one time theres a real emergency...

A few more grumbled curses slip through, interrupting as I worried my lower lip in frustration.

I decide then to see if I can wake him instead, trying to push past the weirdness of this whole situation.

"Hey," I call out lamely, leaning closer so he might hear me.

"Um... Please wake up, I'm not really sure what to do here... I need to get you help,"

Lord I am so lost... He needs medical attention, this is no time to wimp out.

I reach out a hand to nudge his shoulder but think better of it, not knowing the extent of his injuries.

Looks like I'm going it alone, I'll have to carry him...

Hopefully that chainmail doesn't weigh too much, it was already going to be difficult carrying him even with his slim frame.

With some care and difficulty I manage to get him to his knees, kneeling next to him and gently pulling his right arm over my shoulder and slipping my arm around his waist.

His head lolls to the side against my shoulder and his soft breathing tickles the side of my neck.

A bit awkwardly I manage to stand, pulling the both of us upright, I nearly falter but I quickly adjust my grip and give myself a moment to regain my bearings.

A soft groan meets my ears and I glance to the side a bit startled.

When I do, I meet the dazed glance of a pair of half lidded dull sapphire eyes.

For a moment I am drawn in by the searching orbs of blue but am quickly broken free of their spell by their owner.

"W... Where...?"He drawls groggily before wincing, his hand going to cover his side. A grimace of pain forms on his face before his eyes flutter closed again, head lolling to the side once more.

Alright... that was... good... right?

Feeling a bit more unsure I decide its best to make haste now that I've got a good hold on him.

At last I manage to maneuver us up the few steps, not before nearly tripping over my abandoned thermos first, and pause briefly on the deck to catch my breath.

Awkwardly I reach out for the handle, pushing the leaver down to release the latch before none too carefully kicking the door open and readjusting my grip on my new ward.

After shuffling us inside I don't bother with closing the door and instead walk a few feet into the living room before gently lowering the boy onto the couch atop the blanket I had left carelessly thrown across it last night.

I make sure he is sitting up straight against the backrest and his head no longer lolls to one side or the other. As I am doing so I notice something I hadn't before.

This guy is meticulous in his detailing.

Resting against either side of his face are two quite convincing elongated ears, pointed at the tips just as a Hylian's should be.

Curiosity taking hold for a moment I brush aside the hair falling against one of them to take a closer look but can find no seam or ridge of any kind to suggest where the assumed prosthetic would start. Whats more as I go to pull away my hand brushes against it and it feels alarmingly warm to the touch, almost too warm just like the rest of him...

A chill goes down my spine as I step away before I finally turn back to close and lock the door.

Giving him a once over I find myself anxiously worrying my lip between my teeth once again as I fidget in place.

It is now that I can see the alarming amount of muddied crimson soaking into the left side of his chest as well as the rather large slash through the fabric of his tunic there.

God I'm going to be sick...

I push back the returning nausea and the stinging of my eyes that warned of oncoming tears and instead rush to the front of the house to retrieve a rather large duffle like canvas bag from the foyer cabinet.

I throw it carelessly onto the floor in front of the couch, it hits with a rather raucous but muffled bang, before turning again and taking the stairs to pull an armload of towels from the hall closet, returning again to see the new houseguest looking around as if in a daze.

Good. Conscious is good. Lets hope we can keep it that way.

I drop the towels on the end of the couch and reclaim the bag only to set it on the couch next to the boy, gently this time.

I then drag one of the ottomans across the floor to set in front of him and take a seat.

Up to this point I had prepensely avoided his searching gaze but I finally acknowledge him as I rifle through the bag of medical supplies.

I regret it immediately as I find myself unable to look away, it is also then that I suddenly become hyper aware of my positioning as I now sat right between this stranger's legs.

Though I cannot see for myself, I am positive there is a sudden deep flush of red on my cheeks and with renewed will I force my focus back to the supplies, quickly and meticulously pulling out everything I should need and lining them up on the end table to my left.

I finally force myself to look at him again, taking a calming breath before addressing the boy with eyes that swirled with a million questions.

I abruptly find myself immensely grateful that he'd allowed me a moment to regain my composure before posing one of the many that he must have been yearning to ask.

"Okay. I'm going to need you to stay awake while I tend your wounds, some of them look pretty bad so I'm not going to lie to you, this is probably gonna hurt."

I reach over to one of the bottles I had deposited onto the table, rattling it lightly to confirm it's contents were still inside.

Satisfied I shake out two max strength aspirin tablets onto my hand and hold them out toward him until he reaches out his own to catch them.

"These should help reduce the pain, I would give you one of the morphine pills we have left over but I don't know what you're allergic to and the prescription is in my name. Really not looking to get sued if you are allergic you know?" I add with a nervous laugh.

He looks at me in silence for a moment and I fight not to look away as he seems to search my face for something before finally tossing back the medicine, foregoing the offered water bottle I hold out.

With a shrug I set the bottle back down amidst the supplies. My eyes scan over him once more to determine the area in the most need of aid and I decide that the wound on his side worries me the most.

I reach forward, glancing briefly up toward him as if to ask if it was okay before undoing the straps and belts holding his sheath and pouches to him, setting them and his shield aside with the towels.

Now though I am unsure of how to go about accessing the wound itself...

"Are you able to move your arm?" I ask, gesturing to the right one which has another nasty looking gash around his shoulder, starting around his deltoid and ending around his brachii bicep.

He goes to raise it with a grimace before my hand on his lower arm stops him.

"Not much," He replies, his voice somewhat gruffer than I had expected, more than likely from the strain of his injuries. Somehow the hint of an apologetic smile shows through the apparent pain.

"Don't worry about it," I reply easily. "Though I hope you aren't too attached to this shirt, because I may have to cut you out of it to get to the wound in your side,"

Though I wouldn't think he would care much at this point given how torn and blood soaked the garment already was...

"It's fine, it will mend itself anyway," He tells me.

Mend itself?

Maybe he was beginning to grow delirious...

"Uh-huh..." I reply, sounding unconvinced as I reach forward to lay the back of my hand against his forehead.

He still is a bit warm... I'll have to worry about that later though. Right now I need to get better access to the gash in his side.

A short rummage into the mending bag later I pull out a rather menacing looking pair of sheers made of surgical steel and with very large blades.

With only a second's hesitation this time I rest the sheers at the edge of his tunic and begin cutting up to the neckline. I then follow the shoulder down to the hems of the sleeves on both sides before pushing the fabric down to reveal the layer of chainmail beneath.

All the color leaves my face as I lay eyes on the next layer I would have to remove.

A few spots on the chainmail are coated in dark red though that isn't what has me feeling sick. Its the way the woven metal hangs loose at his left side, drooping open as it had been slit clean through to reveal filleted skin that should have been protected by it.

Whoever... whatever... did this to him was not natural... nothing that I knew of should be able to so easily make a cut clean through layers of fabric chainmail and flesh like that...

I couldn't make myself to look away from where the muscle was now split apart quite a few centimeters deep, blood glistening from where it brimmed out of the gash.

My head spun as I stared, surely I made myself a spectacle too as I'm sure my mouth hung open as my lips twitched in attempt to close.

Now... now I really was going into shock... or at least having a panic attack, surely they weren't much different from each other anyway...

I feel a fiery hand suddenly rest upon my own and my eyes go to it, thankful to be torn away from the gory sight that was sure to haunt my nightmares.

My gaze slides from the hand, up the arm, and finally rests upon the calm face of the boy I am supposed to be saving right now.

"That bad huh, doc?" He asks in a rasp that ends in what was either a labored breath, a cough, or something in between.

It takes me a moment to realize he'd been trying to lighten the mood with some humor though it is lost on me as my brow creases in concern as emerald meets foggy sapphire, quickly breaking away a moment later as I loose my nerve.

He gives my hand a squeeze before moving it to catch my chin between a thumb and forefinger to redirect my straying gaze on him.

"Hey, its going to be alright, take a deep breath,"

I do as I am asked, taking a second greedy pull of air that I almost choke on as an incredulous laugh catches in my throat.

He looks worried again and repeats his earlier directive. "Breathe,"

This time I hold it off until the exhale and tears prick my eyes at the absurdity of it all even as short lived laughter trickles from my hoarse throat.

"I'm the one who should be telling you that," I finally say, getting back to work and powering through any lingering fear I have within me. "You're laying here bleeding on my couch and yet I'm the one freaking out and making you put up the calm front for me. I am the worst nurse of all time. Call off the search folks. It's me," Had my attention not been fully on the task at hand I would have seen the slight curve of his lips at my standard coping method of self depreciating humor.

Ignoring his reassurances and muttering insults at myself under my breath I glare hard at an unbloodied section of the light armor.

Now it may be stupid but I might be able to cut through this as well, it will just take longer and may ruin these sheers forever.

Of course chainmail's purpose is to stop a sword swing, but applying direct force to either side with the sheers should be able to slowly snap the links apart...

It probably takes less time than it feels like it does but I manage to get that layer off too with patience.

As I'm working though I do notice worryingly that his eyelids flutter with the effort of him trying to stay awake, that is when he isn't tensing from the pain of me working so closely to the worst of the gashes...

"Hey," I start hesitantly, attempting to recapture his attention and keep him from drifting off again.

He closes his eyes tightly before opening them fully and meeting my eyes, the blue in his seeming even duller, like the muted steel blue of the sky before a downpour.

"What's your name?" I ask as I push away the layer of metal clothing as well.

"Link," He replies with out a hint of hesitation, as though it were a name he had used thousands of times before...

Did he really just...

I realize he is looking at me strangely and can only imagine the face I'm making right now at his answer.

So, either one of us is crazy or this is an incredibly vivid dream... if we're going with the crazy theory though my money is on the guy dressed like he just walked out of a LARP meetup who seems to think he's the Hero of Hyrule.

I clear my throat and try again to refocus myself, giving a quiet apology and excusing my moment of silence as possible shock settling in.

"Aurelia," I reply, adding after a second's hesitation, "You can call me Reila. Nice to meet you, Link," I say, a bit bewildered by how natural and fitting the name seemed when used to refer to the boy in front of me. I pass it off as it being the outfit he's wearing but my gut still squirms almost in protest of the thought.

"Same here, though I do wish it could have been under better circumstances," He replies, wincing a bit at the end as I continue tending to his injuries.

"Agreed," I send him an apologetic look before refocusing. "How did you end up like this anyway? It certainly couldn't have been the wildlife," I add, trying to keep him talking so that he stays conscious.

Its hard miss the sudden change in expression from the boy as he gives me a nervous smile, his posture going rigid as his eyes stare at the side of my face or the wall behind me rather than meeting my curious glance head on.

"I was on my way home and I was attacked," He replies, still seeming on edge.

Alright. So I know two more things now. The first is that he's hiding something.

The second thing is, 'Link' is a terrible liar.

"_Right_," I drawl, setting aside the disinfectant and bloodied rag I'd been cleaning the wound with. "Attacked by what exactly? Because you saw how much time and effort it took for me to cut through the chainmail you were wearing... and I really doubt you would just stay still and let whoever or whatever attacked you do the same just for them to try and filet you like a steak."

A bit harsher than I'd intended but I think he got my point.

"Monsters," He finally relinquishes. "Lots of them," His posture is still tense however and despite the fact that he'd blamed monsters of all things just body language alone sent out red flags that he was still not being forthcoming.

This conclusion is put on hold however as a startled laugh escapes me and I must cover my mouth with my forearm to cease any more trailing after it.

"I'm sorry what?" I ask bemused by his answer as my hands continue to flutter over the wound. "_Monsters_?"

"Yes," He says, looking at me strangely if not at least marginally offended.

"Monsters don't exist," I state as if talking to a young child. "Neither do fairies or magic potions or spells or mirrors into other worlds," I add before he can rebuke my first statement.

Glancing back up at him I expect him to further fight me on it or come up with some other delusional nonsense to throw at me but I am surprised when rather than looking insulted he seems to have brightened up looking somehow triumphant for God knows what reason.

"My pouch." He says hurriedly. "I need you to get something out of my pouch," At my leery gaze he adds, "I have something that can help,"

I set yet another bloodied cotton ball aside as I turn back to him with hesitation, his pleading expression managing to soften the cold wall that had suddenly sprung up after he'd started talking nonsense.

I swear his once dulled eyes are almost sparkling as he gives me what I can only appropriately compare to puppy dog eyes...

"Alright," I concede with a sigh, wiping blood from my hands onto a spare towel before picking up one of the pouches.

He smiles excitedly and I suppress the urge to roll my eyes at the poor kid.

I carefully undo the strings tying it closed and slip my hand in down to my knuckles.

I am confused however when I feel nothing inside, and yet despite the size of the bag as well as me spreading out my fingers within it, they touch nothing, not even the sides or bottom of the pouch itself...

My eyebrows knit together in bewilderment as I reach further until my wrist down has disappeared into the bag.

Nothing.

I hurriedly jerk it free when the strange sensation of air displacing around my hand and breezing between my fingers nearly gives my heart pause.

I glance back up at the boy who had been watching me the whole time with his own look of bewilderment, as well as some amusement, as he watched me get spooked over a simple leather pouch.

"What's so funny huh?" I ask, huffing a bit and probably looking much more like a pouting five year old than the grown 21 year old woman I was supposed to be. "Your bag is broken..."

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to poke fun at you or anything," He says, sounding sincere while smiling at me as I bite the inside of my cheek

"Just reach in again but think about what you want to pull out of it, I have some healing items in there so try focusing on that," He instructs.

"I'm not going to pull anything out of it if it's empty," I mumble.

But still, I feel I want to trust him. He seems genuine this time too, though he's probably just crazy enough to believe the madness he's spouting, but a crazy part of me wants to believe in him too...

So despite my doubt and despite logic I try again.

"Would you look at that, still nothing," I continue, making a bit of a show of trying to reach further in, only to be surprised to have the bag swallow my arm up to my elbow...

The pouch... made from leather with almost no give... that just happened to be the size of my palm...

"Wh... at... the... fuck?" Comes through my lips in panicked gasps. "You didn't tell me your damn bag was a TARDIS!"

"It's alright just-" He tries to cut through my panic. Wincing a bit in pain as he attempts to reach forward before dropping his arm back to his side and watching on.

"Nope nope nope! Get. It. Off!" I hiss out, shaking the disappeared limb as if shaking free a pest that decided to land on it.

"Hey. Hey, Reila," He calls, using my name this time.

I still and pin him with a look of panic and a wild dismay.

"Its okay... just relax," He says, speaking to me as though I were a spooked horse and he'd done this countless times before.

With out breaking eye contact he reaches out a hand again, ignoring the strain of his injuries, and takes hold of the pouch, slowly and carefully pulling it down my arm, revealing that my misplaced appendage was fine and intact.

When I am finally free however and the leather casing is fully removed, I am left staring blankly at my hand.

In my vice like grip rested a small glass bottle and between the cracks in my fingers and either end of the bottle shone a soft pink that pulsed frantically like my heartbeat.

"First off... thanks... I think...? Second... if this is what I think it is then I just want you to know that if I go into cardiac arrest I blame you..."

"Cardi what..." He starts, just as I pull the cork on the bottle and an intense point of fluttering light zips out, quickly dashing toward 'Link' and encircling him, throwing a trail of pink light wherever it went.

At this point I am too spent to properly fuss or panic about this latest impossible event to do much more than hang my head in defeat as a string of curses trail from my lips, muffled slightly by the incredulous huffs of laughter joining them.

'_Eee hee hee_'

My head snaps up as I swear I hear a peel of eerily echoing laughter cut through my mutterings but I shake it off as a manifestation of my rapidly crumbling sanity.

"Reila? Are you alright?" 'Link' asks.

"Please stop asking me that," I groan. "I do not get to be fussed over or worried about while you're still there..." I trail off as I finally glance up at him, noticing that a lot of the blood from his more minor injuries has suddenly vanished, and the gash that I'd been about to mend had already done half the work on its own... the once split muscle was now mostly healed over and the angry bruising around it was now mostly a sickly yellow.

"Looking a hell of a lot less pale and bloodied..." I finish astonished.

'_Ehehehe_,'

Just ignore it Rel...

He gives his shoulder an experimental roll with out grimacing in pain this time and seems satisfied. "Hmm, must be pretty bad if not even the fairy could heal everything," He says, seeming to be talking more to himself than to me.

"Good Lord," I choke out in almost a whimper, catching the young man's attention. "You're the real deal aren't you...? That or I've suddenly gone bonkers,"

He looks at me quizzically but waits for me to continue.

"You're really Link."

"Yes," He replies with an unsure smile. "I told you my name earlier remember?"

I shake my head slowly. "No. I mean... you are _Link_.The reincarnation of the Goddess Hylia's chosen hero. The one destined to save Hyrule from destruction in times of need..."

This answer seems to surprise him more than anything else I've said since he woke.

"I'm not... I mean.. how do you...?" The questions start but die on his lips before he poses another that claims the same fate as he searches for the right one to ask.

It is then as he struggles that I remember I have a task left to complete and take up the sealed sanitary pouch containing surgical thread and sutures.

"So then... you can't be from Kokiri since you look around my age but lack the master sword. Maybe Castle Town, or Ordon...?"

I mean that laughter did sound suspiciously familiar if it wasn't just in my head...

I notice his eyes widen at that last one so I figure that must be it.

"So then... you're the Hero of Twilight I take it," I hum to myself, feeling strangely calm now that I've come to accept this new bizarre reality I had stumbled into, where fairies were real and could heal wounds, and shadowy imps laughed at my expense from somewhere unseen.

Or maybe the more accurate way of putting it was that this new reality had stumbled into me, in the form of the lost looking boy with the kind smile and troubled eyes who'd been forced into the role of hero to save not just one, but two kingdoms...

Before he can say anything more I glance up to him with an apologetic smile as I hover the sutures above his skin. "I'm sorry,"

"For what?" He asks, unsure.

I want to say for everything. For what he has had to, and will have to endure. For what being the Hero will take from him, even more than it gives to him at times...

Instead I hold up the sutures and say, "For these, cuz this is gonna hurt..."

vVvVv

The clipped digital chirp from the front door, followed in quick succession by three more, sets my posture rigid.

I can feel Link's quizzical gaze on the side of my face as my eyes remain glued to the packet of gauze in my hands that I'd just torn open.

A new sound replaces the chirping, the mechanical grind of a motor working to slide back the latch keeping the door locked.

In a panic I suddenly stand, kicking the ottoman I'd been sitting on roughly across the floor, ignoring Link's questioning and instead dragging over the other blanket from the recliner and tossing it unceremoniously overtop the bewildered Hylian.

He lets out a startled shout in offense but it goes unheeded as I quickly shush him, shoving supplies back into the bag as I explain.

"Link, I'm gonna need you to stay still and quiet while I try to talk through this with the latest addition to the shit show alright? Please trust me on this,"

There is a muffled questioning grumble that precedes some halfhearted protest in resignation followed by silence. I decide to take this as affirmation as I begin walking toward the door just as it begins to swing open.

To my relief it reveals the second best option of the three family members it could have been.

Thank God it wasn't Dad...

The woman in the doorway is shorter statured compared to my 5' 7" build though we share the same structure in terms of curves. She has pale skin and deep chestnut hair that falls in waves down to her shoulders, her clear blue eyes were leveled at me quizzically as she hovered in the door frame.

"Have you been painting again?" She asks in place of a greeting, squinting a bit to try and see me better in the low light of the hall.

"Painting?" I ask with a confused tilt of my head. I glance down to give myself a quick once over, feeling all color drain from my face as I make out the large dark splotches of color that had seeped into the light blue fabric of my hoodie, as well as the smears of red along my arms where I'd rolled the sleeves back.

I looked like I'd just walked out of a horror film... or a morgue.

"Oh right, yup! I was painting!" I hastily amend, turning my back to her as I make for the living room at an arduously slow pace. "So, how was work?"

"Fine, same as always. Lots of people calling in to make appointments for vaccinations before going on vacation over the break." She replies, still seeming somewhat suspicious as she shrugs off her jacket and sets her purse on the table. "So what did you paint?"

"What?" I ask, still not facing her as my eyes rest instead on the back of the couch that currently concealed the Hero of Twilight from view.

I had one arm resting across my chest as the elbow of my other sat atop it, my thumb to my lips as I anxiously scraped at the nail with a canine.

How the Hell was I gonna do this?

I wonder if I could get her to leave for a few minutes. Maybe tell her one of the neighbors asked for her while she was out and get Link upstairs once she's gone?

But what then? I'd still be hiding an injured stranger in the house, and who knows how long he'll have to stay.

"Your painting?" She repeats, drawing me away from my panicked thoughts.

"Oh, yeah... Nature. There was a buck out back earlier and I was trying to get it on paper. I've only just gotten to painting some of it," I finally force out, using some truth to make it sound more convincing.

"Really? You'll have to show me later," She says with interest. "Oh, before I forget, Maria wanted me to give this to you,"

Shit. Now I had no choice but to turn around, and unfortunately for me the dining room light was on and the area much better lit than the foyer had been.

I take a quick breath to calm myself before turning to face her.

"Oh really? What is it?" I ask, forcing as much enthusiasm into my voice as I can muster, words falling flat nearly the moment they leave my mouth.

"Aurellia," she starts, cocking a brow. "That doesn't look like paint,"

"Umm... did I say paint? I meant ink... I was painting with ink, ended up knocking the well over and making a mess," I amend gracelessly.

The cross look she gives me tells me she isn't buying it...

"You're a terrible liar," She says, her blunt tone causing me to wince as I watch her hand come to rest on a hip. "Which begs the question, _why _are you lying to me?"

"I... it's..." I fumble for words, becoming more frustrated and feeling more helpless as the now confrontation drew on.

She was right though, I'd always been shit at lying...

"Aura, you're an adult. Now talk to me like one and explain before I get the wrong idea and start worrying," She demands, her gaze softening a bit as she gives me a chance to do what I should've done in the first place.

"It's... It's blood." I finally admit, having trouble saying much more as I can feel my throat begin to close up on me.

Not only was panic setting in from what I was trying to tell her, but the words had forced me to acknowledge that I was decently covered in someone's blood. Even seeing my own blood stemming out of a small cut could easily make me feel faint, I'd never even seen this much blood at one time before...

Now that I no longer had the focus of making sure that Link survived his injuries, I was struggling to keep my composure as my eyes locked onto the claret stains on my clothing, all down my arms and to my fingertips.

My breath came in quick shallow gasps and I did not remove my gaze from the stains until I felt hands resting gentle but firm upon my shoulders.

"It's okay. Just breathe," Mom's soothing voice instructs, her eyes like a clear summer sky staring into the forest green of my own, holding my stare like roots of a tree held to the ground.

"Tell me what happened. Are you hurt?" She asks gently.

"I'm okay. I'm not hurt, I'm fine," I manage after a moment. "It's not mine." I continue, in a small voice. "The blood isn't mine."

I feel her grip tighten for a moment before just as quickly is laxes to the point where her hands are merely laying on my shoulders, the slightest motion able to remove them.

"Who's is it?" She finally asks. Its so soft that had she not stood so close I might not have heard it.

I reach up a hand to cover one of her now trembling ones as I go to answer.

"It's from the boy I saved..." I finally murmur, glancing for a second over my shoulder. "He's on the couch,"

"You... You saved a boy?" She asks in quiet disbelief. At my affirming nod she straightens, hands dropping back to her sides as she looks at me, making me feel small even when she stood two inches shorter than me. "Show me." She demands.

"He's on the couch. Under the blanket," I offer, allowing her to take the lead as she glances briefly over my shoulder before taking the two steps down into the living room and stepping in front of the quite poorly hidden Hylian.

Despite the harshness to her movements she removes the covering gently, pausing with it in her grip as a soft exhale leaves her at the sight of the Hero, arms and torso bare to show the lines of stitching crossing almost randomly over his skin and blood still smeared in spots I'd yet to wipe it away.

His chest rose and fell in a steady rythem, sapphire eyes hidden behind closed eyelids as he slept, unaware of the world on the other side of them.

I hover at her shoulder as she inspects his injuries and the treatment I'd given, offering explanation when she asked of the state he'd been in and how I'd dressed the wounds.

"There was a gash on the Brachii Bicep that was pretty bad and a few more minor cuts on his arms and torso, though the worst was the gash on his side there," I offer, gesturing to the long line of black stitching that wrapped around close to his hip. "That one was down deep into the muscle before..."

I trail off, unsure how exactly I would explain magic fairies and potions to my much more sensible mother when even I was having trouble with it.

"If he was that bad off why didn't you call 911, or take him to the hospital even?" She asks as she draws back, turning slightly to face me. "Even if he hadn't been in serious condition you should have never attempted to administer aid yourself. You don't even know this young man, if something had gone wrong it would be a liability. As it is he could still sue you even though it looks like you've tended his wounds correctly."

My poor mother... She looked like she was on the verge of a breakdown.

"I did think about that, but I'm not sure he could take legal action even if he wanted to," I mutter quietly, half to myself and half in response to her concerns. "He's not exactly from around here,"

"That doesn't mean anything Aurellia, if he-"

"Look, I'm actually glad I didn't have my phone on me when I found him. If I had gotten him to the hospital I'm not sure what they would've done with him,"

"What do you mean? They would have treated his injuries as they're supposed to, and you would've had nothing more to worry about," She says, raising a brow at me yet again as she waits for my inevitable retort.

"Well, yes. But... He's not exactly... Human," I finally force out, not meeting her eyes but instead glancing over the subject of our current conversation as he slept on unaware.

I'm not sure weather the sound she makes in response is a laugh, a scoff, or something in between. "Aurellia Rose," She sighs, trailing off as if she's at a loss, her face resting in both hands as it hangs low almost taking the stance of a weeping angel...

It's the disappointment in her tone that _really_ stings...

"I'm sorry, but what the Hell are you talking about?" She asks, disbelief coloring her tone as she crosses her arms over her chest, staring me down expectantly. "I mean, he may be dressed a bit strangely, and those prosthetics are impressive, but thats no reason for you to say such a thing. I know I raised you better than that."

"Mom. I'm not saying it to be an insult, I'm saying it because it's a fact. He's Hylian, not Human. Apart from his ears, which aren't prosthetic, I'm not sure what else of his physiology is different from ours that the hospital staff could pick up on. The last thing he needs is to be held for study as a medical anomaly,"

For a moment she merely stands still, just staring, before I find the back of her hand pressed lightly against my forehead.

"Are you sure you're alright? Do you need to sit down?" She asks, once again setting her hands atop my shoulders, only this time with intent to steer me toward the recliner behind me.

"I'm fine." I insist, gently removing her hands as I take a small step back. "I'm being serious here though, you just have to trust me,"

"I do trust you love, I'm just concerned for your sanity is all," She murmurs, pulling me into a hug and running her fingers through my deep red locks.

" _Mom_, I am not crazy," I grumble into her shoulder.

"I never said you were dear," She soothes, "I'm only saying that your sanity is in question."

I held back my protests, finding myself worryingly concerned with my current circumstance, even finding myself beginning to question my sanity along with her.

'_Ehehehehehe_'

The laughter certainly didn't help with that either...

Wait... the laughter!

"I can prove it." I say, catching her attention as I pull back, catching her eye as she gives me a weary glance.

She says nothing as I cross my arms over my chest, hip out to one side as I tilt my head, feeling just a bit less hopeless as I mull over my choice of words.

"Alright, since we're fresh outta fairies and there is no way I am sticking my arm back into that Mary Poppins pouch again," I trail off.

'_Ehehe_'

"How about I let Midna convince you?" I finish, talking less to the woman who has now taken to falling back into the recliner behind me and more to the shadowy imp that seems to adore taunting me.

'_Eh_?'

Well at least its not the laughter...

"Look, I don't know if you know where you guys are, but it sure as hell ain't Hyrule. It may just be the furthest thing from it honestly. Like you heard me say earlier, theres no magic or monsters here, no Hylians, no Sheikah, no Zora, no Twili..."

Silence.

"Maybe I really do need to take you to the hospital," My mom finally mutters in reference to my seeming monologue to no one.

I continue anyway, ignoring her quip, "I want to help you both get back but I can't do that if you don't work with me... Hyrule needs its Hero," I say, glancing back at Link. "And the Twili... need their Princess," I add, waiting for any kind of response.

And I need something to happen here that makes me seem like a sane and level headed young woman and not the basket case my mom fears I'm becoming right now...

All is silent for a moment until, "Aura..."

My Mom trails off as a soft distorted chime-like melody cuts off any further words.

My heart stops a moment before sputtering back to life, pace going double time. I would know that sound anywhere, its the same one that plays whenever Midna pops up from Link's shadow to taunt him or give him direction in the games...

Darkness trails from Link's silhouette and across the floor, becoming opaque and more pixelated the further it stretches. It stops just in front of me and the inky blackness stretches upward before separating entirely, the dark blur forming into the familiar shape of Midna's imp form, complete with the fused shadow crown upon her head and her one yellow and red eye peering out from her inky construct.

The rest of the darkness has already retreated back to Link's shadow, leaving only Midna floating before my eyes, a pale barely there teal glow surrounding her, adding some distinguishing lines to her shape.

"How do you know...?" She asks, a barely there sharpness to her bell-like voice as she stares me down with her one visible eye slightly narrowed, her usual smirk turned to a flat line creasing her strange two-dimensional features, a tiny fang poking out over her lip.

Before I have the chance to form a response I am suddenly jerked backward by a harsh tug on the back of my hoodie.

I glance over my shoulder as I bump harshly into something, finding that my Mom had stood from her spot on the recliner and now held me to her with a near crushing grip of her arms across my shoulder blades.

"Mom-"

I am cut off as I'm then shoved behind her as she backs us further away from the Twili imp.

"What are you?" She asks fearfully.

Peaking over her shoulder I find that I'm not all that surprised to see that Midna's expression has morphed into one of devious amusement.

Well... this can't be good...

"Awww what's the matter? Are you scared you silly little creatures? What was the word you used earlier? Humans? Ah yes, thats it! Quite a rare breed aren't you?" She asks, tapping a finger to her chin mockingly. "Ehehehe,"

"Midna, please-" I start.

"You still haven't answered my question," She counters, keeping the laughter to her tone even as her gaze sharpens on me.

I go to move closer but an arm holds me back. "Mom, its alright, trust me,"

"Like I said before, I do trust you. It's that thing that I don't trust," She says in a lowered tone.

"Mom, don't be rude," I chide, gently moving her arm back to her side to allow me to pass.

"Sorry," I add to the Twili as I step forward to meet her.

"Hmph," She crosser her arms and turns slightly away, throwing a glance over her shoulder at us. "She's right, that was rude of you," She trails off, turning back to face me. "But I suppose I can forgive it if you answer what I've asked,"

"The simplest way I can explain how I know you is that here we have a lot of different stories about the Hero of Hyrule and his many incarnations." I start. "My favorite one happens to be about the Hero of Twilight,"

At this her eye goes wide and she almost seems to lean forward in midair.

"I've seen it play out many times before, from just ahead of the start of Link's journey to the very end of it, and your reveal as the Twilight Princess..."

"You say you've _seen_ it...?"

"Yes. Some of our methods of storytelling allow for us to see the stories for ourselves, going through the actions their heroes did as though walking in their shoes on their journy,"

"I want to see," She demands, floating closer. "Show me,"

"I can't," I tell her, "Even if I could it wouldn't be a good idea to let you see any of it,"

"You need to show me! It could help me save my people," She argues, the desperation in her tone so meticulously hidden that I almost miss it.

"Or, showing you could cause you to stray from events as they are meant to play out." I counter, letting my words hang for a moment before continuing on seeing as I have the Twili's full attention now.

"As it stands now there will be hardships both of you will face before your journey ends, but even so you will both get the end that you seek." I explain. "If I tell you what I know and you skip ahead or go somewhere you aren't yet meant to go, it could change everything and you may end up jeopardizing everything you've worked toward."

The Twili lets out a small growl at my explanation, her fists clenching and unclenching as she thinks it over.

"You will help us get back?" She finally asks, her tone resigned yet muffled through a childish pout as she crosses her arms, only meeting my stare with a suspicious sideways glance.

"I'll do all that I can, I promise,"

"Fine. I will trust you, for now. It should also go with out saying that the Hero learns nothing of my position," She replies, forcing a haughty tone as she plants her hands on her hips and sends me one last skeptical glare before dissipating into a cluster of hovering black squares which themselves disappear back into Link's shadow.

"You're welcome," Drifts her voice from the darkness, a trail of laughter following her parting words.

Cautiously I turn back to face the now considerably more pale woman behind me.

"Mom? Are you okay?" I ask slowly.

She ignores my question as she stands, posture stiff, pinching the bridge of her nose and taking deep breaths.

After a moment more of silence she drops her hand, still taking calming breaths.

After a moment of this I decide to try almost a whisper I ask, "So, what now?"

"Now? Now I take an asprin... or three. Then you're going to help me get your friend upstairs to the guest bedroom so he can rest properly. We'll talk about where to go from there once your father gets home," She sighs.

At the mention of my Dad I feel a pit form in my stomach... I was not too confident about how this would go...

I glance back to the sleeping Hylian, oblivious to the tension around him...

And then I prepare myself for a fight...

Despite the mere thought of confrontation making me nauseous beyond belief, I was willing to suffer it for Link, and for the fate of two kingdoms that I now felt at least partial responsibility for...

"I'll get you two," I finally reply, heading to the kitchen to scrounge up some asprin.

Soft footfalls meet my ears as I'm shaking the tiny pills out onto my palm, going unacknowledged as I reach for a cup in the cabinet above me and begin filling it with water.

"So, you never told me who exactly the boy sleeping in my living room is," She starts. "And you seemed to be pretty familiar with that shadowy little... thing... that's connected to him,"

"That 'Shadowy little thing' would be the princess of her own kingdom, she's stuck looking like that because of a curse," I reply, turning to her and holding out the water and medicine.

She accepts the offering and immediately downs the first pill before putting her attention back on me. "This still doesn't explain anything,"

"Alright," I say on a sigh, "You know my favorite game series at least right? I know you haven't got a clue what they're about but you know a little bit of it because of me right?"

She gives me a strange look as though I had suddenly started speaking Thieves Cant at her but with my expectant gaze unwavering on her she takes the second pill and answers.

"Its that Zelda one isn't it? With the guy with the sword and the green..." She trails off at that, eyes narrowing as I can nearly see the thoughts flying through her mind, connections being made as she finally looks me in the eye, suddenly looking so very tired.

"Yeah, thats the one. The boy on the couch is named Link, he's the Hero in green with the sword." I say, a weary but mirthful grin ghosting over my lips.

"He's a videogame character... I..." It seems her words continue to escape her for the moment as she trails off yet again.

"Not a character anymore, he's as real as you or I. I have his blood all over me to prove it," I mutter with a morbid smile. "You don't even bleed in the games, its Nintendo," This time a small laugh trails after my words, tinged with the slightest bit of hysteria.

She steps away for a moment into the hall and I hear the front door open before closing just as quickly. "This has to be some kind of bad dream, but there aren't any alligators..." She says, her voice a hoarse whisper se she steps back into the kitchen.

I decide its better to ignore her strange comment about the gators that never fail to make appearances in her every nightmare, instead patting her arm lightly as I step around her.

"Welcome to the shit show that has become my life." I offer with another hysterical little giggle, continuing on to make my way back into the living room.

"Is he able to walk?" She asks from over my shoulder.

"At the moment, not well." I reply dryly. "Even with the healing he's lost a lot of blood and I'm afraid he'll agitate his wounds anyway if he moves around too much,"

"Healing? You know what, I don't wanna know,"

"There's a reason I mentioned fairies and healing potions specifically when talking to Midna," I offer anyway as I move over to Link's side and gently pull one of his arms over my shoulder.

My Mom mirrors my actions and as she does he begins to stir.

"Reila? What...?" He trails off, voice husky with sleep and strain before he notices the other warm body pressed to his side. "Who...?"

"My Mom," I offer as I giver her a slight nod and we stand with the Hero in between us. "We're moving you to the guest room so you can rest more comfortably,"

"Oh," He replies blearily. "Thanks. Sorry about your blankets," The last part directed more at my Mother than at me.

"Don't worry about it, blankets can be replaced," She says simply, a bit more warmth in her tone as we move toward the stairs.

_But people can't. _My brain supplies as if to finish her sentence.

It takes a bit of time, and some patience, but we eventually manage our way up the steps and into the guest bedroom that sat unoccupied across from mine.

"Alexa, turn on the lights," Mom calls out to the empty air as she nudges the door open with a shoulder.

Hardly a second passes before the lights in the room flicker on, gradually shifting from dim to bright as we cross the room and help Link get settled on the bed.

"I'll be right back, I'm gonna go grab a shirt and some more disinfectant," I say. As I turn toward the door I just barely catch the wince from the hero at the mention of the stinging liquid and suppress the small sympathetic smile that twitches at the corners of my lips.

Alright, shirt first since it's closer.

In a few short steps I cross the hall into my own bedroom, making a beeline for the antique dresser painted a pastel pink that sat against the wall across from me.

I kneel at it's base and gently slide open the bottom drawer, biting my lip as I stare blankly at the neatly folded clothing held within. It wasn't even enough to fill it but had been spread along the bottom anyway, along with a small black bag of toiletries and a few nicknacks and trinkets scattered in the back corner.

Salt and iron floods my tastebuds and with a quiet curse I run my tongue over the new sore spot on the inside of my cheek.

Taking a deep breath I reach forward and pull up a shirt from one of the piles at random, tossing it carelessly over a shoulder before I close the drawer and walk back out to the hall.

Just next to the guest room sat a small closet and with a quick rummage around one of the storage bins I pull up a much smaller first aid kit than the one I'd used downstairs, a quick check confirms it has all I need stocked inside and I step back into the guest room.

I find Mom sitting on the edge of the bed with Link, supporting him by the small of his back as he sits with a hand held to his head.

"Is he alright?" I ask in concern, setting the kit aside on the nightstand before shifting to stand on the balls of my feet to be level with him.

"Fine. Just lightheaded," He supplies, forcing a small smile as he lets his hand fall back to his side. "Thank you," He adds to the woman at his side.

She nods back with a motherly smile before looking back to me. "Does that kit have any Erythropoietin? Its more than likely due to the blood loss, I would say to give him Aspirin but he tells me you've already given him some,"

I turn to grab the kit and set it at the Hylian's other side on the bed before clicking the latches open and retrieving a small brown bottle and shaking out two small tablets which I offer to him.

I was starting to feel like vending machine for pills as often as I was handing them out today. That or the nurse at the hospital who went around with the little paper cups full of the things.

"Those ones you can chew, they tase God awful but they'll help," I say as I begin prepping a few cotton pads with the disinfectant.

"Thank's for the warning," He replies a bit dryly before tossing them back.

Almost at the same moment I catch his expression change to one of mildly horrified disgust I start with the disenfectant, bringing about a whole new expression that then quickly shifts to a betrayed glare in my direction.

"One unpleasant thing to distract from another," I offer with a quiet laugh. "Not thinking about the taste now are you?"

"Aurellia Rose," Mom chides threateningly, using that well known parental tone that told you she wasn't going to have any more of whatever it was that made her use it.

My shoulders droop a bit as I grimace and from my side I hear a raspy but warm chuckle and glance up to find Link with the biggest grin on his face.

_Someone got in trouble his _eyes seemed to say as they glimmered with more life in them than I'd seen all day.

I feel my lips curve up into a smile as I pause in my task, our eyes meeting as I go to speak. "Well, at least you're in a better mood. That was the goal but it seems my Mom's done a better job than I have,"

Another laugh escapes me before I set the cotton pad back against his skin, this time only wiping any remaining blood away since the injuries themselves were clear. The only discomfort left now would be the coldness of the liquid soaked into the cotton, though It probably felt good against his still heated skin so I didn't feel the need to warn him.

After tossing the dirtied supplies into the bin by the bed I reach over my shoulder and pull the tee shirt free that I'd grabbed from my room and offer it to him.

Mom's eyes catch my own as he accepts it, having moved from the shirt in my grasp to do so, her own amused expression shifting to a much more solemn one.

I giver her a small and stringent smile before looking back to our new houseguest as he's already pulling the shirt over his head.

"I know you're a lot better than you were an hour ago, but still be careful stretching or straining yourself, the stitches could still pop open if you're too rough with them, and I'll know if you're forcing yourself," I say, narrowing my eyes at him and leaning a bit closer to an almost comedic effect.

"Yes, Doc," He sasses back with a smirk as he slips his arms through the sleeves with seeming little difficulty, raising a brow almost challengingly as he does so.

With a small huff I shake my head at him, a little amused at his snark.

"Alright, get some rest, we'll figure things out when you've better recovered," I tell the Hero.

"If you need anything just ask Alexa to call one of us," Mom adds as she stands, brushing invisible dust off her pants with a soft smile toward the boy.

"Yes Ma'am," He replies, eyes already beginning to draw closed as he settles under the covers.

"Alexa, turn off the lights and set the fan to low please," I voice quietly to the room.

"Of course Aura," Comes a smooth female voice from an indiscernible point in the room as the lights dim and fan blades begin to spin above.

"Thank you," I murmur back as I follow Mom out of the room, giving one last look to the boy sleeping soundly behind me before closing the door with a soft click.

vVvVvVv

**Hello Lovelies! So, this has been sitting in my documents for quite a while and I figured it was time to finally post it!**

**I have a chunk of chapters stored up following this one, though I won't be updating weekly. I still don't know what my update schedule will be like, but knowing me I would like to keep backups on hand to try and be as consistent with updates as I can be**

**See ya next time lovelies!**

**EDIT:**

**Just a few things, I've decided on an update schedule! Yay! So, updates will be the first and last Saturday of every month with some possible bonus updates thrown in depending on what I have built up in terms if completed chapters. So you will be getting back to back weeks of updates with a few weeks break in between. I figure this works best since I'm still building up a backlog and I'm prone to get stuck on a chapter at times.**

**Second order of business, I've changed the format to leave any input from me until the bottom of the chapter rather than top and bottom, so if you just want to get into the story and ignore my ramblinng you can do so, if you want to see any updates or announcements or little blurbs from me you can find it down here at the end! I figure its a bit cleaner this way and less intrusive to the reader.**

**So, next update will be this Saturday the 25th, see ya then!**

**Side note, does anyone here have Discord or VRChat? I've had the first for a while and made a group for fanfiction, art, and games and such if anyone is interested. VRChat I just started (Desktop mode unfortunately) and am a super noob at but its been fun so far! I actually played a horror map last night with a friend, which I never do because I'm a chicken, and it was pretty cool, terrifying but cool. I'm still trying to figure out what all you can do in it but its a fun time. The only weird moment was a racoon mascot trying to get my number, me being one of the few girls in the room, but it was actually pretty funny in a MadTV Can I Get Your Number skit kind of way, and better still when some dude playing as Marvin Martian came and told the dude to gtfo so I could run off to my friends almost shaking laughing. Good times.**

**Anyway sorry for rambling, just thought I'd share one of the weird circumstances that I found myself in. Actually if any of yall have a weird story in this vein or otherwise I'd love to hear it XD**

**Okay, for real now, I'm out. Peace.**

**EDIT 2: I've combined chapters one and two, explanation to follow!**


	2. I'm Sorry

I'm going to be sick.

Like... actually sick...

Every minute that passed felt like an eternity as I waited for the sound of the deadbolt that would deliver my sentence.

"Reila, calm down," Mom finally breaks the silence, glancing over to me where I sit at the dining table, worrying the silver locket around my neck as I have a stare down with the door handle.

"I'm gonna hurl," I deadpan, not breaking my concentration on the silver fixture.

I get nothing more than a sigh in response before she closes the lid of her laptop to give me her full attention.

"Why don't you go check on Link instead of having a staring contest with the door?" She suggests with a raised eyebrow.

Its still so strange to hear that name out loud, especially when its referencing a real flesh and blood person just a floor above from me, and especially coming from my mother of all people, who's only contact with any video game whatsoever was Animal Crossing and who's learned all she knows about other titles through osmosis via the rest of the game playing household...

"Alright," I murmur without complaint, giving the door one last look of unease as I push my chair in before heading for the stairs.

After moving the unconscious Hylian to the guest bedroom we'd cleaned up the aftermath of my first aid delivery, spraying down surfaces, lugging the bloodied clothing, blankets, and towels downstairs to the laundry room. It was immensely off putting, making me feel as though I were trying to cover up a murder despite the cause being me trying to save a life rather than end one.

With that taken care of I'd spent nearly an hour meticulously scrubbing myself head to toe, washing the blood from my body and scraping it from underneath my fingernails until I was positive there wasn't any trace of it left and the water raining down on me had become cold.

It also gave me time to think as I continuously went through the same motions again and again, trying to distract myself from the red tinge of the water as it swirled down the drain when I first stepped in, and the few tiny droplets of the discolored liquid that stayed behind, clinging to the sides of the tub.

Being someone who has a phobia of blood I would like to think I handled the last few hours exceedingly well...

I break from my thoughts as I realize I'd come up to the door already, standing still in the hall as the haze of memories had veiled my surroundings.

As my fingertips touch the cold metal of the doorknob I hesitate, drawing back as my hand instead goes to my locket.

I take a slow breath before rapping my knuckles lightly against the door, after a moment of silence I finally turn the knob to let myself in.

Not surprisingly, I find that not much has changed since we'd left the room not long ago.

The fading sunlight coming through the drawn curtains allows me enough light to make my way across the room to stand at the Hero's bedside.

A small frown tugs at the corners of my lips as I notice the scant knit to his brows and the slight sheen over his features.

Leaning forward I brush the back of my hand against his forehead as I'd done earlier, sweeping aside damp bangs as I do so, my breath catching as he seems to stir in his slumber.

After a tense moment I pull my hand back to my side from where it'd frozen, hovering above the boy, and glance over to the translucent brown bottle I'd placed on the night stand earlier.

Sharing the small tabletop was also a bottle of aspirin, a glass of water, and a sleeping fairy whom I'd given a spare powder puff to rest more comfortably on while she recovered her magic.

The poor thing had used nearly all of it to heal Link... Midna had told me she would be fine once she regained it back. She seemed to think it was strange I'd been fussing over the tiny creature but shrugged it off as she'd returned to the shadows.

Looking back to our recovering guest I decide its best not to wake him as I slip back through the open door.

I grab a cooling cloth from the linen closet on my way to the bathroom, running it under the tap and draining the excess before returning to the room, weaving through the darkness once again to find Link's bedside.

He'd turned in his sleep so I brush back his bangs again with trembling fingers before folding the towel I'd brought over itself and laying it gently atop his forehead.

The tightness of his features gradually lessens, the sudden coolness coaxing a breathy sigh from him that I just barely catch.

Relief draws up the corners of my mouth as I turn to pluck a small remote from it's mount on the wall.

I'd just pressed the button to bring the ceiling fan whirling slowly in place above the bed when a series of short melodious tones startles me into dropping the thing, the plastic casing clattering noisily against the hardwood and prompting a soft curse from me.

"Oh how sweet," Midna's voice drifts from behind me. "Sorry, did I ruin the moment? Eee hee hee,"

With a sigh I slowly turn to face her, my eyes briefly flickering to Link to confirm all the commotion hadn't woken him.

"I don't have the slightest idea what you're implying," I lie. "But I do not appreciate the heart attack you almost gave me,"

It is difficult to suppress the childish urge to roll my eyes as she gives me her reply in the form of more giggling at my expense.

I can't really be mad though since we share a similar type of humor, and that little entrance line had been pretty good after all. I may've even laughed myself had I not been the target of her teasing.

"I think I'm starting to like you, you're a lot easier to spook than mister hero over here," She snarks, choosing to ignore my remarks in favor of getting in one last jab before growing just a bit more serious.

"It is worrying, the shape he's in... it doesn't usually take him this long to bounce back. Whatever shall I do without my servant to heed my every command?" She asks, throwing her hands up in a dramatic fashion as she shakes her head, behaving as if Link almost getting himself killed was simply an inconvenience to her.

With her flippant attitude I was left to assume they hadn't been very far into their journey before being thrown here...

"Yes, how rude of him to become so mortally wounded as to impede your progress," I respond flatly, sarcasm dripping from every word.

"Finally! Someone who gets it," She replies cheekily with a teasing grin that showed off one of her fangs. "I knew I was right about you,"

I can't help the small huff of laughter that leaves me at her antics.

My amusement is short lived however as the sound of the front door creaking open catches my attention, muffled greetings between my parents following it's closing.

"Well now, things just got a lot more interesting didn't they?" She asks, seeming even more amused now as she watches all the color drain from my face.

"Following you around should be much less of a bore than being stuck with /this/ sleepyhead," A peel of laughter follows as with out warning she dematerializes and I am hit with a sudden wave of dizziness, having to place a hand against the wall to stay standing as I shake off the odd 'pins and needles' sensation running through my body.

It felt as if I had weak currents of electricity sparking through me, like touching one of those electric globe lamps but stronger, and everywhere...

What's really only seconds feel like minutes, and then abruptly it ends, like nothing even happened...

Once I realize what'd happened I find myself idly wondering if this is what Link went through every time Midna hopped in and out of his shadow, though I quickly brush my pondering aside as I make my way to the door, beginning the slow path downstairs to the theme of the funeral march, compliments of my own sick brain...

#

"Sup punk?" My dad asks, putting extra base into his voice to sound more gangsta in the goofy way that he often does when he's in a playful mood.

Despite my nerves as well as confusion at his apparent good mood, I can't help but give a small smile at the tall man in front of me as I walk forward to give him a hug.

"Hey Dad, not much," I reply as I pull back, almost cringing over how much of a lie that statement was.

My dad could be seen as pretty intimidating to some people if they didn't really know him.

He was close to six foot, still held a decent build from all his years in the military, his dark wiry hair still cropped clean and short as it was required to be when he was still in the service, and he was clean shaven but for a short trimmed mustache above his lip. Contrary to my very lightly tanned skin and my mom and brothers' even paler complexions, Dad's was more of a warm chocolate color with eyes to match.

"Not much? Gotta be somethin'going on, your mom said you wanted to talk to me about something,"

My eyes dart over to where my mom sits in the recliner, my gaze wide with disbelief and betrayal.

So that's why he seemed to be in such a good mood... she hadn't told him anything and was leaving this all on me.

Fair, I suppose... but still some warning or a moment more to prepare would've been nice.

I close my eyes with a sigh, hanging my head in defeat. "Yeah, I do," I reply quietly, crossing my arms over my chest as I try not to fidget under his stern gaze.

"Well, out with it, what's goin' on?" He asks at my pause, lightly clapping a large hand on my shoulder.

I focus on the wall behind him rather than his eyes as I start my retelling of today's events.

"Well, I was sketching out back when this boy about my age fell into the yard..." I start, I can feel his gaze harden just the slightest bit at the mention of a boy and mentally roll my eyes at his predictable dad reaction.

"He kind of just face planted the grass and wasn't moving so I went to check on him... I noticed a cut on his face that was still bleeding and I couldn't wake him up so I carried him inside,"

The silences when I pause in my story unnerve me a bit as I expected him to jump in with questions or scold me, but he just stands with his arms crossed waiting for me to finish.

My fingers fiddle with the cool metal of my locket as I continue on, my gaze moving lower and lower until I'm looking more at the floor than at my dad. "It turned out he was worse off than I'd thought, he had a gash on his right arm and another larger wound in his side along with a number of shallow ones... So, I ran and grabbed the med kit and some towels, he regained consciousness around that time and I kept him talking to keep him awake. I gave him aspirin and cleaned his wounds, stitched up the one on his side, and as I was finishing that mom came home and I panicked and threw a blanket over him..."

I glance back up briefly to see his gaze travel over to my mom but quickly avert it as he turns it back to me.

"So you took in a stranger, and patched them up? When you had no idea who they were, if they were a threat? And, you thought it would be a good idea to treat them rather than calling an ambulance and letting them handle it? Do you understand that's not only dangerous, but because you treated him yourself that could become a liability?" He finally speaks, his voice deep and authoritative, trailing much too close to his staff sergeant voice for comfort. It's hard not to miss the slight exasperation in his tone as well...

It does not go unnoticed that in the background my mom had thrown up her hands, which when accompanied by her expression could easily be translated to something along the lines of, 'That's what I said!'.

"Well... I couldn't have called 911 or anything, and I do know who he is, that's why I couldn't let them treat him..." I trail off weakly as his stare intensifies, I can almost see the vein pop out in his forehead... He was not buying it, and now he was becoming angry.

A feeling of dread overcame me as I realized all too late. I was in for a lecture.

"What do you mean you 'Couldn't let them treat him'? It's their job, Aurellia,"

"Ooh! Let me answer him, this should be fun," Midna singsongs as she appears from my shadow right in front of his face.

Oh my God Midna.

I swear if this imp gives my dad a damn heart attack...

As expected his eyes widen in alarm as he jumps back, stumbling a bit before quickly catching himself on the railing of the stairs.

"What the fuck-" He exclaims, still leaning backwards some even as he rests his weight on the railings.

"Was that /really/ necessary? I was trying to lean into the other details like you and magic and all of that so that I wouldn't freak him out like this..." I chide the imp as she floats carelessly on her back, arms crossed behind her head as she eyes my dad with a very amused grin.

"Not really. Though it is much more entertaining this way don't you think?" She asks, looking in my direction for a moment to give me a taunting grin before trailing off into laughter again. "Humans are so fun to play around with, it's almost sad we can't stay,"

"You should have seen her earlier when Link asked her to grab a potion from his pouch, she stuck her whole arm in and started screaming when it disappeared." The twili starts, "Oh, and once he helped her pull it out, she was holding a fairy instead of the potion. She looked almost as silly as you just did when it flew out of the bottle,"

I send a cool glare her way as she partakes in her new favorite past time, laughing at the expense of humans, crossing my arms over my chest as I lean my weight onto my left foot.

"Yeah, it was hilarious, we get it," I mutter, rolling my eyes.

"What the Hell? Thats... thats Mipha,"My dad finally speaks up, pulling back to stand at his full height and trying to look more intimidating than he was in that moment after nearly tripping over himself at the sight of the Twili.

"Twilight Princess not Breath of the Wild, Dad," I correct with some amusement. "This is Midna, remember? Ruler of the Twilight, teams up with Wolf Link?"

"Hmph, I should be offended, but I'm more curious about this Wild Breath thing, and who is Mipha?"

I have to stifle a laugh at her wording but explain to her nonetheless. "Breath of the Wild is the most recent Hero's story, it will take place hundreds of years after yours and Link's tale in the time of the great Calamity. Mipha is the Zora princess who was in love with the Hero of Calamity,"

Midna makes a disgusted face as she reels back slightly, "Now I really am offended, being mistaken for some silly princess love struck by the 'hero'? Insulting."

I can't help but laugh at her reaction, nearly choking on a cough as she continues on. "What sane person would fall in love with the hero anyway, if they are all reincarnations of wolfy up there then I don't see the appeal," She sniffs, turning up her nose as she crosses her arms in a show of indignation.

In the midst of her pouting, Dad has reached forward, swiping a hand through the air before it reaches the indignant imp and, to all our surprise it seems, continues right through, seemingly slicing the shadows of her form in half through her middle. Swirling tendrils of each half drift almost lazily, like drops of ink dispersing in water, before quickly knitting back together.

All of this happens in a matter of seconds as Midna's eye widens, pupil shrinking as she glances quickly from the formally disconnected area of her waist and then to my Dad who stood looking down at his hand almost scrutinizingly.

Her tiny fists are curled and shaking at her sides as she 'stands' straight in the air, shoulders drawn up and lip curled in apparent distaste.

"Has no one ever told you it's rude to touch a lady with out permission?" She says with a deceptively sugared tone. Relaxing a bit she pulls her arms up to hug herself, looking down a bit. "No one has tried to touch me in that form before... I can't say I enjoyed the feeling of being separated from half of my body so I would advise that no one try that again."

/And/ theres the dangerous aura again.

"Really freckles, what is it with your family and manners?" She adds to me, back to her lighter snarky tone.

"Forgive them if they forget themselves when faced with things and beings literally from another world." I deadpan.

"Well as long as you keep up your end of the bargain I suppose it could be overlooked, you're lucky that I'm so nice,"

"We must be blessed by the Goddesses for them to have sent someone with such understanding to us," I reply dryly.

Laughter is the only response I receive before I turn my attention back to the other two in the room, finding that they seemed to have tuned out our little side conversation for the most part. Dad having walked over to sit down on the couch looking deep in thought, and my mom still in her chair, hiding behind her laptop as she looked a mix of sympathetic and amused as she glanced between him and our little side conversation in the dining room.

"Do you understand that what you did today was unbelievably reckless and irresponsible..." Dad finally says in a low tone, the words, despite being worded as a question, said with such finality that I knew he did not intend me to answer for once.

Its then that my mom finally speaks up from his side, to my relief coming to my defense now that it seemed the fire had all but gone out in him.

"But, she did what she thought was right and had the tools at her disposal to back up her choice." Mom defends

Well... not exactly... Had it not been for the aid of a fairy and some magic potion, my skills may've not been enough.

I could have been responsible for the death of Hyrule's Hero. I would have the deaths of two kingdoms over my shoulders as well...

"And what if the boy had died, forget about who he may or may not be, forget about the ramifications of the law. There would be a life lost hanging over her for the rest of her life." He counters solemnly, echoing the thoughts raging in my own head, words renewing with flickers of flame as he goes on, now leaning forward in his seat, looking no longer at me but at my mother.

"I've had enough time to think about that yes." She starts. "While I would've done differently were I in her place, I'm proud of the way she handled herself. I can't bring myself to deny her worry either over what could have happened if she /had/ done as we would and left him in the care of the hospital."

She reaches over to take his hand in hers, prompting him to look up to meet her eyes. "However strange or off putting the situation, I'm proud of her and I trust her to use her better judgement and do what she feels is right."

With another low sigh Dad finally looks back to me after giving Mom's hand a gentle squeeze. "So what? Your plan is to try and get them back where they came from with out anyone finding out about them?" He finally asks, seemingly deciding to go along with it and pretend, at least for right now, that this wasn't all just some crazy dream he was having.

"Well, yes... that's exactly the plan," I murmur, fiddling with my locket again.

He takes a deep breath, letting it out in a sigh before posing his next query. "So he's still here? I'm assuming you've got him in the guest room,"

"Mhmm, mom helped me get him upstairs after he passed out again, the fairy Midna mentioned healed a lot of his wounds but some were still in need of stitches even with it's help, its not a danger any longer for him to sleep though, he's just running a slight fever now,"

"Okay, Elaborate. How are you planning on getting them back, what are you gonna do in the meantime if it turns out it isn't a quick fix?"

"I was thinking on it... I'm going to need to do a lot of research, maybe try and retrace their steps back through the woods once Link is well enough. As for the meantime, we'll be closing on the house soon, if they're still here when that happens I could talk to Marina about them coming with us. She's one of the few other people I would trust with this, and we have enough room,"

"Nikki, you have anything more you wanna add?" He asks, turning to look to my mom once more.

"Nothing that you haven't already, we talked about a lot of this earlier but I told her you would get your say on it when you got home and she told you everything," She replies.

"Alright," He sighs again. "I wanna have a talk with him when he wakes up. From here out those two are your responsibility. You are an adult, I'm trusting you to make the right decisions," After saying this he stands, moving to walk past me toward the front of the house.

He pauses, his hand resting for a moment on my shoulder. "I'm proud of you, weird as this shit is you do seem to have handled yourself well,"

I look back up with surprise just as he continues walking away, before looking at the unusually quiet Twili floating next to me.

"Well, that got boring pretty fast," She pipes up with what I assume to be a roll of her eyes... eye? "Call me when something interesting happens,"

With that she retreats back into my shadow with her usual laughter as I slowly slump into one of the dining room chairs, my body suddenly feeling very heavy with exhaustion and the stress of all that had transpired today.

**_vVvVvV_**

**_Edit: Alright, sorry if this is shorter than exspected, I wasn't feeling super creative with the additions I had planned but I did cange some things around and put some small additions. Sorry again guys._**

**_Next chapter will be from Link's perspective though so hopefully thats something you all can look forward to._**

**_Hello lovelies! _**

**_So! This is the second time I'm writing this as the first didn't save... sorry if this isn't the most cohereant. I've combined chapters one and two into one as I didn't feel either were long enough for an introduction and not enough happened in each alone._**

**_I will still be posting on schedule with a new chapter tomorrow night, it still has to be edited and I have some additions in mind but it shouldn't take too long._**

**_I am a bit hesitant though to upload it as it stands now though. I try not to upload when the number of chapters outweighs reviews, which is the case now with Unintended Kismet. I haven't had this problem before so normally I don't have problems updating when I have a backlog to meet deadlines with. I am not saying I will not update on time going forward, though its difficult to gague how I am doing and if people are really enjoying what I'm writing with out feedback. Also I know for myself at least that I am quite guilty of judging how worthwile reading a story is on weather there are substancially more reviews than chapters. It's not necessarily an accurate gauge but nevertheless I still do it and I'm sure many others do as well. Writing for me is a large part enjoying what I'm writing, but also knowing others are enjoying it with me as well, its where I get my inspiration and drive to work harder or push back block and write more. _**

**_As it stands now I'm unsure if its worth it to keep on or start over with this fic. That being said I will do my best to keep to schedule with the backlog of completed chapters I have, but with out feedback and with inspiration lacking I may not get past 7 chapters before I hit a wall with it. As it is I have already been working on other stories in different fandoms instead of the latest chapter of this as I had been before. I won't give uo on UK but chapters may become slower to update as I run through the backlog. I will not be an author that holds their story in review jail but I just wanted you to be aware of my mindset and perhaps be prepared for a stall in updates or an overhaul of all chapters in the future depending on what people think._**

**_This note will more than likely either be deleted or a new chapter tacked onto it at a later date._**

**_Sorry if you were exspecting a new chapter lovelies, but thank you for reading and I hope my rambling made at least some sense. Please let me know if its worth it to continue with this or if I should start over._**


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